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The Thorn Birds
- Narrated by: Greta Scacchi
- Length: 6 hrs and 17 mins
- Categories: Literature & Fiction, Historical Fiction
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Publisher's Summary
Critic Reviews
"I simply could not put it down. If it hadn't been wrenched from me at mealtimes, I'd have starved." ( Daily Mail)
"A true epic....It's easy to see why this stunning tale has been called the Australian Gone With the Wind." ( Daily Telegraph)
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What listeners say about The Thorn Birds
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- dmitry
- 09-14-14
Abridged is like cut from alive body
Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?
yes, but i'd turn their mind to the abridgement staff
What other book might you compare The Thorn Birds to and why?
As it was well noticed The thorn birds is an australian Gone With the Wind
How could the performance have been better?
less exaggerated pronounce
Was The Thorn Birds worth the listening time?
Yes, but the story is worth more listening time.
1 person found this helpful
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- Vanessa
- 06-25-17
Brilliant book
A wonderful storyline with great character development and a plot of twists and turns with a wonderful undertone of life and love. A romance of reality .... love it❤❤❤
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- Miriam Majome
- 07-07-15
Unrewarding
This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?
Maybe someone without any expectations. I had so many and looked forward to finally reading it and was surprised to find that it was quite boring. I know it's not allowed to say that about this great book but that is how I felt. I was surprisingly bored
What was most disappointing about Colleen McCullough’s story?
One expects so much from these modern classics. It is one of those rare books which has the ultimate humiliation of being surpassed by its film adaptaion. it. I watched it in the eighties when I was a child and was still only learning English but I could not get over it. I'm not a film person and I sleep through most movies. I recently slept through the Da Vinci Code movie but I'd stay awake until 3am reading the book. So I was really surprised when the book disappointed me so much. The story was just not as engaging as I had thought it wasd going to be. It turned out to be a very love ordinary story unlike what it is pitched as. There is nothing memorable about this book
What didn’t you like about Greta Scacchi’s performance?
Its not that it was particularly bad. It just wasn't memorable
What character would you cut from The Thorn Birds?
Thats just it. None of the characters were engaging enough for me to truly care about loving or hating them.
Any additional comments?
It just wasn't for me I guess. My expectations were too high and it disapointed me. I expected a book in stakes of Grapes of Wrath or The Picture of Dorian Gray but it falls far short and is just a book that I forgot as soon as I finished it.
1 person found this helpful
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- Annamie
- 10-21-13
A lovely story
This was a most enjoyable read. I wished it carried on longer, yet it ends perfectly.
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- Jude P.
- 06-04-16
Hideous abridgement! Don't bother!
What would have made The Thorn Birds better?
It felt like there was massive areas missed out.
Would you ever listen to anything by Colleen McCullough again?
I love this story, but it just felt massacred!
What does Greta Scacchi bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?
Brilliantly narrated! The voices really brought the characters to life!
What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?
Disappointment!
Any additional comments?
I hated this version of a fantastic story!
9 people found this helpful
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- MRS V J WILSON
- 12-11-16
Abridged version
I had not realised this was an abridged version, having read the Thorn Birds 3 times previously - it has always been one of my favourite books, however, I was disappointed that it was not the full version. It was read beautifully - I just wished it had been the full version.
6 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 11-27-17
Disappointed
Hugely disappointed to find this was a severely abridged version, a fact not mentioned in any of the description and only found in tiny writing on the side of the book image on close inspection once I realised there were huge chunks of the original book missing. Not only abridged, but poorly so. Don't waste your money or your credits.
3 people found this helpful
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- mark chilver
- 02-19-17
Epic love story
What a great way to spend time. This is a heartbreaking tale. I loved it.
1 person found this helpful
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- Dave Broomfield
- 04-07-19
Need the unabridged version
I loved this series back in the day when it was on tv. I really enjoyed listening to this book and Greta Scacchi narration is great but it’s too short. I would have given 5 stars all round for the full version.
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- H
- 03-02-19
Already listening again!
I remember seeing clips on the tv years ago when my mother was entranced by the story - and now I understand the appeal. Multi-dimensional characters and fabulous descriptions of scenery create a sense of complete immersion into the actions and emotions of the characters. Greta Scacchi's narration is smooth, modulated and engaged and an absolute delight to listen to.
Looking forward to hearing more from both author and narrator.
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- rhonamcm
- 01-24-19
The Thorn Birds
An old favourite sought out when feeling nostalgic. Beautifully read, but why oh why abridged ?
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- Linh
- 04-15-17
This is a fake 'The Thorn Birds'
Any additional comments?
The Thorn Birds is my favorite book ever, I've got a paperback book, a DVD of its movie, and I wanted to have an audio version so that I can always listen to, especially when I'm on the go. I purchased this audio book with excitement but it turned out to be a HUGE disappointment. About a half of the story was skipped with all of the critical, beautiful parts and conversations... gone. What a waste!
7 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 01-25-18
This is NOT the full novel
The Thorn birds is one of my favourite novels so I was extremely disappointed after listening, to find out that this version of the novel leaves out multiple key paragraphs, and whole scenes out of the book. Unfortunately, upon searching, it seems that audible doesn’t actually offer the real version, or any other version at all of this book. Very disappointing. Going to try another audio book service to see if I can find it.
4 people found this helpful
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- Valentina
- 11-15-16
Disappointed
I absolutely love the printed book, it is definitely my favorite book since I was a teenager, so I really looked forward to listening to it. But I was really disappointed that the audio version had left out at least 1/3 of the book, the listeners are missing out on so much! Why would you cut the story short?! The original narrative adds so much depths to the characters, to the storyline...and it's all missing in this audiobook!
The narrator wasn't great either, at times cringeworthy. Disappointed again.
I wish there was a full version, with a different narrator.
1 person found this helpful
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- Mrs
- 07-30-15
A bit of Australia
A surprisingly captivating story which I really enjoyed as a new resident of Australia I enjoyed hearing about now familiar scenery, animals and culture and enjoyed it all the more for that.
1 person found this helpful
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- Diana
- 12-24-20
Fabulous as always.
Colleen McColloch describes beautiful men, beautifully. A story over 3 generations and multiple countries. Mainly Australia.
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- GBAD
- 12-04-20
This is an abridged version
Disappointed to read lose after listening for a while that this is abridged, which should be made clear on/before purchase.
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- Anonymous User
- 08-25-20
Read the hard copy
So many parts missed and cut out.. WOULD NOT RECOMMEND!! Waste of money. So disappointed.
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- Anonymous User
- 08-02-20
Wonderful
I love this story. Thank you Colleen. Even the movie was great. Such a wonderful talent you have.
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- Jason
- 05-18-20
A great book to listen to
This was beautifully read but I wish I'd realised that the story was abridged as it missed so many details from my favorite story.
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- Tracey Rice
- 03-24-19
Not what I expected
Found I longed for the connection between Meggie and Ralph. Couldn't feel it in the written word at all. Great did a wonderful job as narrator. Colleen's description of Drogheda was beautiful and it became a living entity for me. However, doesn't happen to me often but much preferred the mini series